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Weather report: Mild in the Corn Belt

In the West, cool conditions linger most prominently in the southernmost Rockies, where some snow is falling. Chilly conditions also persist in snow-covered portions of the Intermountain region. Elsewhere, showers are approaching the Pacific Northwest.

On the Plains, some light precipitation (rain and snow) is falling across southernmost areas, mainly in central and eastern Texas. Elsewhere, dry weather prevails. Mild, breezy conditions are developing across the northern High Plains, eroding winter wheat’s protective snow cover. Topsoil and subsoil moisture shortages remain acute in much of the hard red winter wheat belt; at the end of December, for example, Oklahoma’s topsoil and subsoil moisture was rated 92 and 98% very short to short, respectively.

In the Corn Belt, mild conditions are developing across the upper Midwest. Chilly conditions persist across the remainder of the region, especially across the snow-covered Ohio Valley.

In the South, scattered showers are confined to Florida’s peninsula. Cool, dry conditions across the remainder of the region favors a limited return to off-season fieldwork, following a period of wet weather.

Outlook: During the next several days, most of the nation will experience tranquil weather and a gradual warming trend. Little or no precipitation can be expected over the weekend from the Intermountain West into the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. Meanwhile, precipitation totals may approach an inch across the lower Southeast, while 1- to 2- inch totals may occur in western Washington. Precipitation will gradually end across western and southern Texas, while snow showers will affect areas downwind of the Great Lakes. By early next week, a developing storm across the south-central U.S. will bring increasingly unsettled weather to the eastern half of the nation, with snow possible from the east-central Plains into the Great Lakes while rain falls south and east of the storm center. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for January 9-13 calls for above-normal temperatures across the eastern half of the U.S., while colder-than-normal conditions will prevail in the West. Meanwhile, near- to above-normal precipitation across the majority of the U.S. will contrast with drier-than-normal weather across Florida’s peninsula and from California into parts of the Southwest.